Charged Up Over Discover

Though shares of Discover Financial have handily outperformed the market in the past year, they still deserve more credit.

Discover's credit cards may not ooze prestige, but the company's shares are worth coveting.

Discover Financial Services (ticker: DFS) is a direct bank and electronic payment services company. It owns its payment network, which means it collects merchant fees and can boost them with savvy new partnerships, like the one with PayPal.

It continues to introduce competitive new cards with a focus on no-fee perks. Discover boasted...